


The Games We Play

by zara2148



Series: Fethry Joins F.O.W.L. [2]
Category: DuckTales (Cartoon 2017)
Genre: Gen, M/M, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, these two continue to have lots of issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-03-01 19:26:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23992270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zara2148/pseuds/zara2148
Summary: “Wow, so much to do. But why is it so empty? Didn’t you say this was the employee lounge?”“Oh. Well, it’s the secret employee lounge. Y’know, for high performers like us.”Or, Steelbeak and Fethry spend time together in Funzo's after hours. Neither of them had thought to call this a date.
Relationships: Fethry Duck/Steelbeak
Series: Fethry Joins F.O.W.L. [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1709911
Comments: 10
Kudos: 97





	The Games We Play

Fethry’s eyes were wide as he took in all the games around them. “Wow, so much to do.” He craned his neck around, trying to see the entire arcade at once. “But why is it so empty? Didn’t you say this was the employee lounge?”

Yes, because even he knew that saying their headquarters was underneath a Funzo’s would raise a lot of questions.

“Oh. Well, it’s the  _ secret  _ employee lounge. Y’know, for high performers like us.”

That sounded dumb the second it left his mouth. 

“Really? I’ve never been called a high performer before.” 

Fethry walked off to take in the games one by one. Muscles Steelbeak didn’t even notice had tensed, relaxed.

Why had he done this? He’d sworn off this place after he wasted an entire paycheck on these games. The impulse to come here had been sudden, sparked by the thought that he had never seen Fethry outside of the lab.

Fethry had stopped at the prize counter, fingers pressed against the glass case as he examined the smaller prizes. He, and there was no other word for it, he  _ lit  _ up when he spotted something. His eyes shone brighter, his grin widened, his entire body lifted without leaving the ground. 

Fethry looked around at the games again and he started counting off with his fingers on one hand. Running some math?

Steelbeak settled his hands inside his pocket as he walked over. He was cool, calm, and not all curious at what had caught Fethry’s attention.

Fethry’s eyes were flicking between the arcade and a small keychain. A keychain with a smiling fish.

Of course that’s the one he wanted. Steelbeak didn’t even try to fight back the hint of a smile.

He watched Fethry concoct some sort of game plan. Eyes darting around the arcade, calculating a way to his prize.

“We could just grab it.” The glass case didn’t even have any locks. Did the bean counters really keep such a good tally that they’d miss one little keychain?

“No,” Fethry said firmly, his gaze intent on the keychain. “That’s not what a high performer would do. I’m going to earn it.”

Well, maybe it’d be fun to see someone else try and fail at these games. That’s totally why he followed Fethry around on his quest for tickets.

“What games do you like to play?” Fethry asked as they walked.

“I like smacking the moles,” he admitted.

Fethry chuckled. “Oh, I could never play that one right as a kid. When the moles popped up I’d give them pats on the head. My cousin Donald would tell me it was a waste of money. But I figured the moles would appreciate it after being smacked all day.”

This was… different than just hearing about undersea life. That was weird, entertaining, and occasionally unbelievable. The oceans’ mysteries were as unfamiliar to him as a normal, safe childhood.

He would have thought the first would be far more interesting than the second. But right now, it wasn’t.

Fethry stopped in front of a game with flashing lights and colorful buttons. He inserted a coin and started copying the sequences that popped up. He did well enough to earn a string of tickets.

“So… you’ve been to these kinds of places before? With others?” And why was something inside him twisting?

Fethry hummed thoughtfully as he counted his tickets. “I went to a few places like this when I was growing up with my cousins. Gladdy would always win the jackpot at the Wheel of Fortune, but he never really played any of the games. He never had to, since some of them would just spit out tickets at him as he walked by.”

“Donald would play the games, but something would always go wrong. Like there’d be a blackout right as he was about to achieve a new high score, or the ticket dispenser would run out right when he stepped up to play.”

Fethry tucked away his tickets, now neatly folded into a stack, into a pocket. “I felt bad that neither of them seemed to be having any real fun, so I stopped asking them to take me after a while.”

Despite his success with the flashing lights, Fethry moved away from it, ready to try a different game. 

“And you stopped doing something you really liked… for others?” It was all so  _ strange _ to Steelbeak, who’d grown up having to peck others out of his way if he wanted anything. Why care if it made them unhappy? They would have done the same to him, if he’d let them.

“I liked the arcade, but I loved my cousins,” Fethry said simply, starting another game.

That became the pattern of the evening. In between games or even while playing them, Fethry told him bits and pieces of his childhood. What he really loved talking about was the  _ people _ in his childhood.

The grandmother that owned the farm Fethry grew up on. Lazy summer days spent in meadows, the insects that buzzed about, all the chores that a farm required.

How his cousin Donald’s interest in the sea and sailing was actually how Fethry first developed his own interest. Donald was “just so cool,” and as a duckling, Fethry had wanted to be just like him. 

(That sent a stab of  _ something _ through Steelbeak’s chest, but it was a something easily brushed off for now.)

He talked about checking out books on undersea life from his school’s library, how he read them through lunch and recess. Sometimes, he even snuck a chapter or two after his grandmother turned their lights out for the night. Poor sleep habits started young, it seemed.

As Fethry talked about mapping tide charts when he should have been paying attention in class, Steelbeak pulled out his wallet to pay for a few rounds of Skeeball. It was getting late after all, and the sooner they won Fethry’s prize…. well, the sooner Fethry would have his prize, was all.

He actually wasn’t in a hurry to see this evening end, he realized.

And if he thought Fethry had lit up at the sight of the keychain, it was a dim, flickering light bulb next to his smile when he declared they had enough tickets.

As they piled the tickets on the counter, he didn’t reflect on how confused the day staff would be. Instead, what suddenly hit Steelbeak was how another, simple lie might have stopped Fethry from acting  _ nobly _ .

Maybe he could have said the prizes were free for high performers to take. That the numbers were for how high of a performer you had to be to claim them.

(He’d be a top-level agent, of course.)

But… while this hadn’t been  _ easy _ … it hadn’t exactly been any trouble either. He couldn’t say he regretted it. 

(And what he could say, he wasn’t going to.)

Fethry slid the glass case open. He reached in and oh-so-gently picked up the key chain. His smile widened and he cooed over how cute the keychain was.

And then, he held it out to Steelbeak. “Here, I wanted to give this to you. As thanks for bringing me here and being my friend.”

“You _ what? _ ”

Fethry’s grin was slipping, its glow dimming. That sent Steelbeak on a sputtering course correction. Stupid, stupid...

“I mean... I just…” He held out his palm as a peace offering. “I thought you wanted it for yourself.”

Fethry carefully tipped the key chain into Steelbeak’s palm without brushing their hands against each other. He felt… crumpled by that. He was glad Fethry didn’t push for more, but at the same time he wanted to be _ ready  _ for more.

“No, I wanted you to always have a friend you could carry around. To talk to when there’s no one else around… just the press of the abyss against your head...”

Fethry’s gaze went dark, even as his smile didn’t quite slip. These seconds of… well, he didn’t know what to call it, but whatever it was always left Steelbeak on high alert. He wasn’t sure what Fethry might do when he got like this.

“You sure you don’t want this?” Steelbeak asked to bring him back to the present, even as his fingers closed around the fish. Not tight enough for a fist, just enough to keep the keychain there.

Fethry’s gaze cleared. “Nah, I don’t have any keys.” The duck shrugged, seemingly uncaring that he had all but said he had no place to call home. “But a high performer like you must carry all sorts of keys to all sorts of doors.”

“... there was only one that ever really mattered.”

And that had been the door out.

But he wasn’t as ready to talk about himself as Fethry was. Besides, Fethry was already starting to yawn as the night finally started to take its toll. Soon he’d be yawning as well, and then they’d be stuck in an endless yawn loop. Hmm, that actually had the potential to be a good scheme...

He slipped the keychain into his pocket. He didn’t have any more keys than Fethry did. But that would change with time.

“Let’s go back,” was all he said, as he gave Fethry a tired yet satisfied grin.

And so they did.

**Author's Note:**

> Me: *brainstorming this* It would be adorable if I went with the cliche of winning a prize for your date with Steelbeak for Fethry.  
> Second thought: Yes, but you know what would be even better? Fethry winning something for Steelbeak.  
> Me: You're absolutely right.
> 
> Not sure how happy I am with this, but... *shrugs* I pretty much had to write it when I made myself laugh at the thought of Steelbeak going "It's the secret employee lounge." Did a good portion of it in a stretch, then chipped away at it off and on.
> 
> Also, I try to have these two just have a fun not-date. I really do. Serious past stuff just keeps sneaking, just like in real life.


End file.
